Fishing and birthday celebration

The number of campers has really decreased since school started. Paul says that what the campground gets now are newlyweds and nearly deads. From the calls I took over my workshift last weekend, I would have to agree it would appear that way.

John and I went fishing at Sylvan Lake on Monday. The weather was beautiful but we got skunked. I did get to watch a small trout chase my hook in as I was reeling in. Here is a shot from one of our fishing locations.

Today we went to Bismark Lake with Travis and Cindy (fellow workampers). It was the first time that we actually fished from our kayaks. We really enjoyed the experience. It is so peaceful being out on the water with the only sound being the slap of water from your paddle. We watched an Osprey come in land on top of a dead tree stump. He sat there for a couple of hours before he took off. There were ducks on the water as well as turtles sunning themselves on logs. So very peaceful. We caught a lot of Perch and John caught one Rainbow Trout all of which were released back into the water.

Later in the night we headed off to Alpine Inn to join in the birthday celebration for Faye. Here is a picture of the birthday girl. She was moved to tears that we all joined her and Marshall in celebration of her birthday. Her actual birthday is tomorrow but it was celebrated tonight as she has to work in the office tomorrow.

Almost all of the workampers were able to attend except for Jack and Karen who had office duty tonight. They were missed. Here is a shot of all attendees looking towards Faye.

Here is a shot of the other end of the table - 14 of us had a good meal and good conversations.

It will be the last time all of us are together before everyone starts heading out. Jack and Marion leave on Thursday, Faye and Marshall and Terry and Sharon leave on Tuesday after Labor Day, and Jack and Karen leave on Thursday. That pretty much leaves Helen, Travis and Cindy, and John and I. The park will seem very empty when everyone departs. This has been a fun group of people to get to know. It will be sad to see them leave. We wish everyone safe travels and hope our paths cross somewhere down the road.

Yes, we are still alive

Life is great in the Black Hills. We've been busy doing "stuff" and I have just been a slacker at keeping the blog updated. Last week, we did a lot of geocaching with Rick and Y. There was one that was a Did Not Find but the guys couldn't let it stand as the first defeat so the next day we went back and the cache was found.

We made a trip to Rapid City on Tuesday and had a hang out day on Wednesday playing cards/games as it was cold and rain threatened all day.

The number of campers coming in to the park has really slowed down so there really wasn't much to do on my work shifts. John work shifts included finishing up staining some decks and painting picnic tables - nothing to difficult.

We saw Rick and Y pull out this morning. It was with mixed emotions seeing them leave. We have thoroughly enjoyed their company these past two months so will miss hanging out with them but on the other hand, excited that they are off on new adventures. . . after all, that is what this lifestyle is all about. Safe travels you two! We will hopefully see you down the road in Colorado. Must admit, we are getting a bit of hitch itch what with Rick and Y leaving, Michelle and Steve are leaving tomorrow to head down towards the Ozarks, and the other workampers are all contemplating their departures. Unless the weather drastically changes, we will stay here for the Buffalo Roundup on Sept. 28 and leave on the 29th.

Had a nice chat with Melissa and then Rick and Y who gave us a call via Skype - amazing technology and it's free! A nice ending to a another wonderful day.

Geocaching, showers, rain and Marshall's medical emergency

As we had laid low while the Sturgis Rally was on, we decided we needed to get back to hunting geocaches. We set off on a beautiful morning for a cache that was near Crazy Horse along the George S. Mickelson trail (see those clouds in the sky, more about them later) near Highway 16. The "easy" cache turned into a 3 1/2 mile hike. The hike did lead us through some beautiful areas and the site of the Custer 1874 Expedition Encampment.

Rick found the cache and as we headed back to the Jeep, we noticed that the white fluffy clouds were now getting darker. As it looked like the clouds were over Hill City, we headed back into Custer for lunch. As we finished up lunch, Rick noticed that it was raining. Not a big deal right? It wouldn't have been except we have been traveling around topless (the Jeep, people). We thought about waiting the rain out but we had a feeling it was only get worse. So we piled in and got comments from people about "where are your umbrellas". We got drenched on the ride back to the campground. The cover was thrown over the Jeep and we all headed for our respective rigs for showers and dry clothes. That was a first and I must admit cold but also kind of fun.

The next day we decided to try our hands at another multicache. You are given coordinates for the first cache where you pick up coordinates for the next cache and on until you find the final cache location. We first headed off to Sunset Lode Mine to find the next clue that resembled the metal tag below. The metal tag had the coordinates for the next cache location.

At the final location, from the top of a steep hill, the view of Crazy Horse could be seen.

We then headed off for another find. Due to water and John being the only one wearing Teva's, the rest of us watched as John hunted for the cache after crossing a small stream and climbing up a rocky hillside. Another cache found!

Friday was a blowout as it rained almost all day long. John and I made a trip to the Post Office, John got his haircut, and we drove up to Hill City for lunch.

We were relaxing and just discussing where we might want to head when we leave Custer at the end of September, when Faye knocked on our door. Her husband, Marshall, was having some chest pains and difficulty breathing. She asked if I could cover her workshift while she took Marshall to the clinic. I told her to go ahead and I would be right there. I threw on socks, shoes, and grabbed my raincoat and John and I were out the door. Marshall was not looking at all well. He had been complaining all week that his acid reflux was bad and that his medicine wasn't working. To make a long story short, while at the Emergency Room and hooked up to an EKG, Marshall started having a heart attack. The hospital staff responded quickly and prepared him for a helicopter flight up to Rapid City to a waiting cardiologist. Faye came home to grab his medical records and then headed up to Rapid City. I had John check with her to make sure she was up to driving herself and she was. Marshall ended up having a stent put in due to a blockage and last we heard, sounds like he will be just fine.

When Faye returned home this morning for a short while to tend to their dog, I was able to speak with her. We are all so relieved that Marshall is going to be fine. Faye said that Marshall said he felt better than he has in days and was even sleeping better. I told her I felt so bad that she had to experience all of this alone. She said that she called family and friends and knew that we here were all thinking and praying for Marshall so that helped. She said she was really grateful knowing that we were all so concerned. Marshall was going to have an echo cardiogram sometime this morning and they will know more once they get the results as to what, if any, damage there was to his heart. The cardiologist said that the Custer hospital staff did all the right things in handling his condition. The good news is that Marshall may be able to come home tomorrow morning.

On another note, lately in the early mornings, we have had a flock of turkey's visit. They are enjoying the birdseed that gets tossed out of the bird feeders. We had been told that in August they start to show in numbers around the campground.